Lockheed Martin flight tests new rocket launch system

Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) successfully conducted the fifth and final production qualification test for the new guided multiple launch rocket system alternative warhead recently at White Sands Missile Range, N.M.

During the long-range test, four rockets were fired from a HIMARS launcher and destroyed their respective targets approximately 65 kilometers away. The test is the final milestone before the developmental test/operational test phase, which will incorporate soldiers into the system testing. The DT/OT phase will begin this summer and will conclude with the initial operational test and evaluation exercise in the fall.

In April 2012, Lockheed Martin received a USD79.4m contract from the US Department of Defense (DoD) to develop the alternative warhead program. Under the terms of the contract, the engineering, manufacturing and development phase of the program runs 36 months, focusing on system performance, warhead qualification and producibility.

The alternative warhead is designed to engage the same target set and achieve the same area-effects requirement as the GMLRS submunitions warhead, but without the lingering danger of unexploded ordnance. The alternative warhead is being developed by ATK under subcontract to Lockheed Martin.

The AWP is part of a US Department of Defense plan to create a GMLRS variant that meets the DoD´s cluster munition policy. The Lockheed Martin GMLRS Alternative Warhead program will also be compliant with the provisions of the Convention on Cluster Munitions international treaty.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 115,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. For additional information, visit http://www.lockheedmartin.com.